Ellis, Belisario file for salary arbitration

The only two Dodgers eligible for salary arbitration this winter — catcher A.J. Ellis and reliever Ronald Belisario — satisfied the formality of filing for arbitration along with 131 other players Tuesday.

Players and teams will submit salary figures on Friday with hearings (if necessary) scheduled in February. The two sides can continue negotiating throughout the process. The Dodgers avoided another potential arbitration case when they signed left-hander Clayton Kershaw to a two-year, $19 million deal last February.

Ellis, 31, figures to get a big raise this year after establishing himself as the Dodgers’ every-day catcher in 2012. Ellis made just $490,000 while batting .270 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI and starting 128 games at catcher.

Belisario, 30, has hardly been a stable presence in the Dodgers’ bullpen mix due to off-the-field problems that led to him missing the entire 2011 season and serving a 25-game suspension to start 2012. But he has pitched well, going 8-1 with a 2.54 ERA in 68 appearances last season.

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